Project Ezra - Dedicated to the Public Reading of the Bible
Dan Beaudoin - "I am a 30-something evangelical Christian with a passion for street evangelism and open-air preaching."
Ah, you're one of those guys that nobody can stand. You think it's cool to go out into public places and shove your crap on everyone!
Why is that necessary? Why do you think it's cool to shove your beliefs on everyone? Then you hide behind the safety of your blog and refuse to let anyone comment who disagrees with you. What are you so afraid of? If you have the ultimate truth, then why hide?
I've got two ideas about why religions bloggers usually censor:
1. They know that their arguments are all based on fantasy and can't stand the thought of actually having to provide some evidence.
2. They don't want their readers to see any opposition. The more they are exposed to the the opposing arguments, the more likely it is that a few of them will actually turn their brains to the "on" position.
If truth is truth, then it should stand on it's own. You wouldn't need to go out and preach. I assume you drive a car? Have a cell phone? Use the internet? How long did someone have to preach at you with a loudspeaker until you were finally convinced that driving is much faster than walking? That using a phone is much easier than screaming? That the internet is just cool?
I'd bet that no one did, and that's my point. Anyone who has to scream and yell in order to be taken seriously is fighting a losing battle. If your religion could save everyone and was the ultimate truth, then people would be lined up at your baptismal font day and night.
If something works, people use it: light bulbs, wheels, digital cameras, computers, etc. How many of these things operate on faith? None of them.
And the worse part is that if someone else came up to you and started preaching, you would tell him he's insane and to take his nonsense somewhere else. Can you see the irony here?
I would have said all this to him on his own blog, but he censors (surprise, surprise) and he will only let you comment if you kiss the ass of Jesus right along with him.
So, Dan, believe your fairytales and nonsense all day long, but stop shoving it on other people!
13 comments:
When I lived in Raleigh there was a preacher who shouted biblical nonsense in the brickyard at NC State. My boyfriend used to go yell at him all the time. The debates were so heated and stupid that it was funny. The preacher could never come back with anything constructive. The Bible is the sole word of the Lord. Yada yada yada. "You'll never be happy..." Yada yada. I'd like to think that finding happiness as a non-believer is the sweetest revenge for a religious upbringing.
I hate to admit this, but when I was on my mission we did a campus blitz where the entire district went and tried to convert students. I hated every second of it and I don't think a single discussion or baptism came of it. Students are hard to convert... they are being taught how to think!
EXACTLY. However, there are some nut jobs coming out of State. Like this girl, for example:
http://www.technicianonline.com/viewpoint/evolution-theory-not-fact-1.2695837#.T1qdAjEgerY
Check out the Facebook commments, though. She gets A LOT of backlash, and deservedly so.
when I used to live in the Bible Belt region of lower Alabama there was this VERY LOUD preacher that would come out into the downtown park area and preach his "word". I found it very annoying and rude that he was making so much racket in a public place where people were just trying to relax and enjoy the park.
Thanks for sharing that link, Karah. This girl is just as misinformed as everyone else about evolution. "It's just a theory" is an awesome statement of how ignorant they are. Her stated definition of a theory is incorrect.
Luksky, I wonder if you could have the guy arrested for distrubing the peace?
"If truth is truth, then it should stand on it's own. You wouldn't need to go out and preach."
That's really not the case at all (and you contradict yourself by having this blog. If mormonism isn't true, why would you need to tell anyone?)
Please read this
http://christianthinktank.com/2many1.html
I don't suppose you read his site on the day after you posted, but he's drawn our attention to an unexpected example of scientific method in the book of Isaiah:
If one claims another [God], God challenges them to prove it. Says “Let him foretell the things that are to come”
This strikes me as an excellent test for the existence of gods, and one that no follower of an Abrahamic religion could reasonably object to.
Here's the comment I made of Ezra's blog. I don't expect it to survive there...
Isn't there a problem with that argument? The Bible that we have today was written down many years AFTER both the prophecies and the events that fulfilled them. We can't know for sure that the prophecies or events weren't tweaked to match up with eachother. Furthermore, since Christ and the people of his time would have been aware of the prophecies, they could have deliberately set out to fulfil some of them - riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, for example.
In any case, the bible passage you quote sets an admirably high standard for the proof of a God's existence: "Let him foretell the things that are to come.”
So, in order to affirm God's existence in accordance with Isaiah 41:22, let Him fortell things that are to come. Fortelling things that happened 2000 years ago is easy, especially when you control all the accounts of what was foretold and what actually happened.
Chris, I have pointed out to believers countless times that a prophesy AFTER THE FACT isn't a prophesy! And the authors of the New Testament had access to the Old Testament, making it very easy to "fulfill" the prophesies. So it doesn't impress me and yet they fall all over themselves with excitement about how amazing their prophesying god is!
If nothing else, it's good for a laugh!
I stumbled across your blogsite last night, and, although I am a believer in God and creation, I would have to agree with you on several issues. If I had to pick my view of reality- a magickal God who hides dinosaur bones, and mysteriously conceals his existence, or 10 (to the 80th power) atoms coming into existence from nothing and self organizing into all the ordered systems we observe- what would I choose? If the best organized religion can do is present an endless parade of glassy-eyed adherents who spout unsubstantiated assumptions and circular reasonings (something that evolutionary biologists also do with surprising frequency) I would probably choose the quiet imponderables of our accidental and purposeless consciousness.
I'm not sure anyone can supply you with information that would satisfactorily answer the (I assume) sincere questions you ask in your blog: "So when I ask 'why?" to a believer, it is not so I can trap them. It is because I genuinely would like to know. I truly want to understand the mind of a believer."
The subject of God and creation is extremely broad and filled with substantive evidence- contrary to the perception that creationism is unscientific, and creationists are narrow-minded, uneducated, and cannot proffer a rational and substantiated basis for their views.
The unfortunate sampling of the religionists you have come across has understandably reinforced your belief in an atheistic creed. Hopefully it will not prevent you from considering the possibility that there are other reasonable and plausible explanations for our existence.
With your permission, I would like to continue a more detailed dialogue with you on your @yahoo address.
And for the record, I too was taught how to think.
I see no evidence for god or creation and, believe me, I have taken a good, hard, objective look. If you feel you have evidence to support creationism, I'd love to hear it.
I don't think creationists are uneducated and stupid. They are very smart, which is why I am all the more confused. Educated people tend to be critical thinkers which is why it amazes me that there is anyone left who still believes in creation.
Creationism is not scientific any more than evolution is religious. I'll hear your evidence for creationism with a very skeptical mind. I've heard too many religious people claim that science has disproven itself. It's like me claiming to be a prophet who has revealed that there is no god. I'm sure you can understand my skepticism.
Feel free to email me if you'd like.
To Mormon411,
Thanks for your response. I will get back to you in a few days to offer my extended thoughts.
However, just a small correction among your quotes: Money is not the root of all evil, which is an oft-misquoted paraphrase of a bible scripture. It is the LOVE of money (literally in Greek- 'fondness of silver') that is the corrupting attitude. (1 Timothy 6:10)
And why are churches always asking for it? I would guess, for the most part, they love it.
A couple comments:
First, comments are not allowed because that blog is for the purpose of equipping and encouraging Christian believers. It's purpose is not debate. There are plenty of other forums for that.
Second, there are plenty of ignorant professing Christians who are not able or willing to take criticism or debate. There are also many who are willing. The Christian faith is more than able to stand scrutiny, and I would be happy to discuss it with you, as I have with many, many others. I'm not afraid of the tough questions. I just don't choose to debate them online very often, since it is rarely fruitful. If you want to look at evidence, go to www.yoursoulmatters.org. It's a work in progress, but has some good info. I may even allow your comments to be posted.
Thirdly, the picture is NOT me. I am a street preacher, but I don't get nasty with people. The preacher pictured, who I am acquainted with, does, and I make a point of not associating with him or his group when on the streets.
Finally, the reason my friends and I go to the streets is because we want to see God glorified and souls saved. Believe it or not, many (though admittedly not all) street preachers are out there because they actually care about the people they are trying to reach, many of whom would NEVER think of entering a church. But that doesn't make their soul any less valuable, nor does it negate God's command to reach out, so we go. Yes, it bothers some people. That's never the goal, though it is sometimes the result. But would you be willing to upset a friend, or even a stranger, if you were under the conviction that it might save their life? I think you would.
Dan
Dan, thanks for stopping by. A comment from you was the last thing I ever expected.
In response to your first comment: I can appreciate that.
Second comment: I agree with you. Religious debates are often unfruitful, unfortunately. I have heard many people claim that their religion has evidence and can stand up to the tough answers, but I have yet to see anything even remotely convincing. I will check out your website; may even write a post about it in the future.
Third comment: Yes, I am aware that pic is not you. I apologize if I implied that it was. I did a google search for images of street preachers and found that one.
Fourth: I understand completely that your intentions are nothing but good for the salvation of fellow human beings. It just seems odd to me that "god's word" is always coming from people. I will be the first in line to praise the lord as soon as I hear "his word" from "his mouth". Further, just because you strongly believe something, does not make it true. Other people feel as strongly about their religious views as you do. What makes you so sure you are right?
Post a Comment